Indicted Banker May Provide Valuable Leads

The following is an excerpt from a press release issued April 30, 2014 by Department of Justice, Tax Division (DOJ) announcing the indictment of a former senior officer of the Beverly Hills branch of an Israeli bank. The indictment is important because it may very well mean that many U.S. taxpayers who have not come forward and entered the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) may wish to do so immediately in anticipation of their names being turned over to the DOJ. If these taxpayer do not come forward before the DOJ or IRS have identified them, they will not be eligible for the OVDP and, therefore, will face Willfulness penalties under the FBAR penalty provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Tax Fraud penalties under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).

The civil Willfulness penalty under the BSA is the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the highest account balance per year for up to 6 years. The civil tax fraud penalty is 75% of the understated tax. Criminal charges can be brought under both statutes.

The cost of OVDP the is a 27.5% FBAR penalty based on the highest single year account balance in the preceding 8 years, plus the understated tax on unreported income, plus interest and a 20% Accuracy related penalty for the understated tax.

Now is the time to come forward for all U.S. taxpayers with undeclared foreign financial accounts.

The press release follows:

“WASHINGTON – Shokrollah Baravarian, of Beverly Hills, California, was charged today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

According to the indictment, Baravarian, a former senior vice president at the Los Angeles branch of a bank headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, conspired to conceal the existence of undeclared accounts owned and controlled by U.S. customers in Israel. The indictment alleges that these accounts were concealed from the IRS by opening them under pseudonyms, code names and the names of nominee entities set up in the British Virgin Islands and the island of Nevis.

“This charge results from an ongoing and extensive investigation into the use of undeclared bank accounts in Israel, and demonstrates the department’s determination to find and prosecute those who help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through offshore accounts located anywhere in the world,” said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.

“IRS-Criminal Investigation and Tax Division prosecutors have been investigating the use of undeclared bank accounts globally, and charges have been brought against not only the U.S. taxpayers with undeclared Israeli bank accounts but also those who facilitate the hiding of assets and income abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division. “Whether it be Israel, Switzerland, the Caribbean or elsewhere, the Justice Department is finding the hiding places and is committed to prosecuting tax cheats.”

“The defendant assisted others to hide the true ownership of offshore bank accounts through the use of code names and nominee entities,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber. “Our special agents unraveled the complex financial transactions used to disguise the funds in the undeclared accounts. Those who help others commit tax evasion risk prosecution and
substantial monetary penalties.”

The indictment further alleges that Baravarian assisted U.S. customers in secretly accessing the funds in their undeclared accounts by obtaining back-to-back loans from the Los Angeles branch of the bank. According to the indictment, a back-to-back loan was a loan that was secured by funds in an undeclared account in Israel and issued by the Los Angeles branch to a U.S. customer. Baravarian is alleged to have helped conceal the fact that U.S. customers were using their own funds as collateral by purposely not keeping copies of loan-related documents in the files at the Los Angeles branch. These documents included Israeli account information and pledge agreements used to secure the loans. As detailed in the indictment, some U.S. customers obtained back-to-back loans from the Los Angeles branch by transferring funds to Israel from other foreign countries, including Switzerland and China.

The indictment further alleges that a banker in Israel would periodically travel to Los Angeles and meet with U.S. customers to discuss their account statements. Prior to making these trips, the banker would redact the names of the U.S. customers reflected on the account statements.

Baravarian is the latest in a series of defendants charged in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with using undeclared bank accounts in Israel to obtain back-to-back loans in the United States.

U.S. citizens and residents who have an interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the existence of such account on Schedule B, Part III, of their individual income tax returns and on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Reports filed with the U.S. Treasury.

If convicted, Baravarian faces a potential maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. The charge contained in the indictment is only an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent and it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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